AIBU to ask if there are any anaemia experts out there please? My GP keeps fobbing me off!

[tomovemykids]

Have been anaemic for a couple of years but normally keep it at bay with supplements.

Tried to give blood in January and my haemoglobin concentration level was too low; it needs to be 125 or above to donate blood (I'm usually around 120) and mine was 116.

I eat a healthy balanced diet with fortified Cereal (Weetabix or Bran Flakes mainly), fish, red meat, dark green leafy veg and eggs etc

I gave up alcohol on 1st Jan and haven't touched a drop as know it inhibits iron absorption. I've limited myself to two cups of caffeinated tea a day, no cola or other caffeine, for the same reason (I've never drunk coffee).

I don't have heavy periods, in fact I only have a light one every 3 months as I take my pills back to back.

So I don't have any of the normal reasons to be anaemic. I had a colonoscopy in June 2018 to rule out internal bleeding or Crohns etc. I've been tested negative for Coeliac.

I'm so so tired of being tired all the time I sleep for 8hrs a night, then need 60-90 mins in the afternoon... Then fall asleep on the sofa after dinner for 30 mins. It can't be normal for a 38 year old to be this tired all the time? I'm fatigued some days, can't get out of bed to put my two children to bed in the evening so dh does lots.

I've just had blood test re-done this week (took 4 weeks to see GP and another 2 to get a blood test appt) and the GP had put "No Further Action" despite my serum ferritin level being below range (27 ug/L when range is 30 - 300) and my mean cell haemoglobin is below (26.7 pg). My concentration is still only 118 g/L so I'll be unable to donate blood - something I explained to the GP was important to me.

All this despite me taking either 2 x SpaTone sachets a day and a multivitamin with iron, or Feroglobin. I explained this to my GP that it's still low despite the supplements....

Does anyone have any clues as to WHY I'm still low on iron despite all my endeavours please? Looks like my GP has given up on me

@skybluee I've just Googled Lucky Iron Fish as never heard of them... They look great but are nearly £40! Can imagine it would be quite the novelty for a few weeks then forgotten about, but I'll sleep on it.

I've got mild IBS so really don't want constipation and then laxatives on top of my issues, so think I'll take @Floraflower3 's advice and request a prescription for a gentler, liquid iron supplement that is very strong. Will call them tomorrow and ask for a 3 month supply and go from there.

You sound similar to me. None of the tablets/iron supplements worked.

What did work was giving up all dairy I had to to bf allergy baby - I wouldn’t have done it Otherwise.

Since stopping all dairy products IBS symptoms gone and ferritin levels have never been so good, and without supplementation.

I suspect I wasn’t absorbing it properly, either lactose intolerance or milk protein allergy (had as a kid and thought has grown out of it).
Good luck Sorting yours out

Honestly, with the gut problems you mention, I am very surprised they haven't suggested dairy and gluten free. FODMAP is seriously complicated, and not for everyone either.

The other thing, of course, is hormones. But I'd not be worrying about that til your iron levels are up a bit.

To give you some more helpful info on Spatone, the reason it is marketed despite having such a low % of iron, is that far more of it is absorbed.

Of the 12-18mg of iron in a "normal" diet, 2mg will be fully absorbed and end up being used.

In spatone, an average of 20% is absorbed (between 10-40%), which means of the 5mg per sachet, you'll get about 1mg or more absorbed.

In the instructions or suggests taking 2 sachets at a time if you're low.

I have absolutely no connection to Spatone, but at a time when I really needed it, and everything else made me feel sick, it did help. Your iron supplements could explain your morning nausea?

Meanwhile, many years later when I also had awful cycles, I had iron infusions. They thought I'd need 1-2 a year. In the end it was every 3 months.

So I'm not just wittering on, I have done some homework.

I'm also not suggesting one approach over another, as you can see, I've done everything from funny water to infusions.

What I'm saying is that you're right to persevere, and you have the right to good health. I would book an appt, and say what you said here... that just signing off NFA is not getting to the bottom of it. Even if you have to sit on a list for months to see a haematologist or whatever, extreme fatigue is not normal, and there are plenty of options before writing you off.

Good luck!